The Centre constituted a committee
headed by acclaimed filmmaker Shyam Benegal to look at a possible
revamping of the censor board, facing allegations of stifling artistic
freedom under present chairman Pahlaj Nihalani.

The panel has been asked to submit
its recommendations within two months on reshaping the censor board,
officially known as the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

Government to roll out LPG-like DBT scheme for
kerosene from April 1

After the success of paying
subsidy to LPG users in their bank accounts, the government will from
April 1 roll out a similar programme for kerosene where the users will buy
the cooking fuel at market rate but will get financial support directly in
their bank accounts.

The cash subsidy to be paid to
users will be equivalent to the difference between current PDS price of
about Rs 12 and market rate of Rs 43 per litre.

The move will help curtail subsidy
outgo for kerosene, which in 2014-15 was about Rs 24,799 crore.

Alstom delivers ‘Made in India’ coaches to
Kochi Metro

Alstom coaches are unique as they
are the most modern ones manufactured in India

Alstom, the French transportation
equipment maker, rolled out the first set of railway coaches for the Kochi
Metro project from its facility at Sri City in Andhra Pradesh.

The three
indigenously-designed and manufactured coaches were flagged off by Union
Minister for Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs, M. Venkaiah
Naidu.

Govt forms panel to study wage structure of
gramin dak sevaks

“A one-man committee to examine
the wage structure, service conditions etc of gramin dak sevaks in the
Department of Posts has been constituted by the Government of India,” .

The Department of Posts has 2.6
lakh gramin dak sevaks.

Kamlesh Chandra, a retired member
of the postal services board, will constitute the committee, which will be
assisted by T Q Mohammad, a senior administrative grade officer, who will
act as secretary.

China creates three new Army units to modernise
military

China has created three new
military bodies as part of reforms to modernise its military and improve
its fighting capacity.

State television showed President
Xi Jinping giving military flags to the leaders of the three new units a
general command for the People’s Liberation Army, a missile force and a
strategic support force. Mr. Xi and PLA officers and soldiers sang the
national anthem at the inauguration ceremony .

Corp Bank gets NPCI awards

Corporation Bank has bagged three
awards at the ‘National Payments Excellence Awards 2015’ event recently.
The function was organised by National Payments Corporation of India
(NPCI).

The bank said in a release that
these awards were instituted for recognition of exceptional performance of
member banks.

Corporation Bank received the
winner award jointly with Indian Bank for ‘Cheque Truncation System’ under
the mid-sized category.

The digital solutions launched at
the hands of Usha Ananthasubramanian, Managing Director and CEO, PNB,
include an industry first App enabling the customer to locate PNB ATM with
‘PNB ATM Assist’.

Another android based App, ‘PNB
MOBIEASE’ to help undertake basic banking has also been launched.

Govt. may dilute 25% stake in IDBI Bank

State-run lender, IDBI Bank, is
planning to raise Rs.3,771 crore by way of qualified institutional
placement (QIP) which could see government stake reduce by 25 per cent,
according to an exchange filing.

“Govt. of India has conveyed its
approval to IDBI Bank to raise capital to the tune of Rs.3,771 crore,
through QIP route, at an appropriate time during the year.”

Mahindra inaugurates bio-CNG plant

Mahindra & Mahindra on
inaugurated a bio-CNG facility here to create carbon neutral ecosystem at
Mahindra World City (MWC).

Spread over 1,000 square metres,
the facility will convert eight tonnes of food and kitchen waste generated
daily at MWC, into 1,000m3 of raw biogas, Mahindra & Mahindra said in
a statement.

Further the raw bio gas can be
enriched to yield 400kg/day of purified CNG grade fuel which is equivalent
to a 200 kW power plant.

E-commerce industry to cross $38 billion this
year: Assocham

Mumbaikars left behind all other
cities in India shopping online in 2015, while Delhi residents came second

India’s e-commerce market is
likely to touch $38-billion-mark in 2016, a 67 per cent jump over the $23
billion revenue it clocked last year, according to the Associated Chambers
of Commerce and Industry (Assocham).

Veteran leader
of the Communist Party of India (CPI), Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan, passed away.
He was 91.

About
Bardhan:

A widely
respected politician, his influence extended beyond electoral strength and
geographical spread of the CPI, which he steered through highs and lows during
the challenging era of coalition politics in the last two decades. He was CPI’s
general secretary for 16 years from 1996.